Assig-nos to ltjcas-lambos



3 Shees-Sheet 1 J. LUCAS Filed Jan. 8, 1927 MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE WARP YARN SUPPLY ON WEAVING MACHINES Dec. 3, 1929.

, INVENTOR Jam r/MA/ A 00/15 ATTORNEYS J. LUCAS Dec. 3, 1929.

MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE WARP YARN SUPPLY ON WEAVING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jam r/mw [ac/1s A TTORNEYS 1929- J. LUCAS 37,600

MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE WARP YARN SUPPLY ON WEAVING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 5 w/r/vms INVENTOR g W Ja/mn/flxv 1/0/75 Coo/WWW A TTORNEYS Patented Eco. 3, 1929 JONATHAN LUCAS, OF SAVAETNAH, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR T LUGAS-LAMBOBN LOOM CORPORATEON, 0F KEV] YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLENG THE W'ARP-YARN SUPPLY ON WEAVING MACHINES Application filed January 8, 1927. Serial No. 159,759.

My invention relates to machines for weav- ..ooms, and more particularly to the mechanism thereof which controls the supply of warp yarns to the shed and fell line. Hole tofore it has been the custom to let off the yarns from the warp beam in successive steps by the action of the picking ratchet of or on the sand roll associated with the cloth roll as the latter is operated to wind up the woven fabric. Under such conditions the warp beam is rotated by the pull of the yarns, resisted by the action of a brake upon said warp beam. so that the feed of the i arp yarns is an impositivc one and ofttimes is at variance with the pick of the fabric being: woven. The warp yarns are accordingly supplied in varying; degrees to the shed which results in uneven and otherwise defective weaving. The object of my invention is to overcome the innccurc cies a n d defects of such arrangements by provid ng a take-off motion in combination with atake-up motiomin contradistinction to a let-off motion, of simple and efficient design whereby the supply of warp yarns to the shed positively controlled in uniform and accurate harmony with the picks of the fabric being woven. The movements of the takeoff (warp beam) and the take-up (cloth roll) are separate and independent of each other. each member operating at its own correct speed which is dependent upon the character of the particular fabric being woven. The invention contemplates further the provision of a novel mechanism constructed and arranged to maintain the warp yarns in the shed under an even tension during the reversal of the yarns in the shed. Other more specific objects will appear from the description here inaftcr and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate an example of the inventirm without defining its limits and in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional clevation of a loom with the invention incorporated therein; F 2 is a fragmentary rear end View; 3 a fragmentary side eleva tion; and Figs. 1, 5, and 6 are detail views of an operating cam forming part of the construction.

As shown in the drawings, the loom comprises a frame 10 of suitable dimensions and customary construction provided with the conventional harness frames 11 which are reciprocated in vertical directions in inverse relation to each other to reverse the yarns in the shed in the well known way. The customary beater mechanism, including the usual reed 12 for laying the weft threads, also forms part of the loom: the latter. in addition to the parts to be hereinafter described in detail, may include any and all features commonly found in weaving mechanisms of the type in question. The mechanism for controlling the supply of warp yarns to the shed comprises a warp beam 13 which is rotatably mounted in a suitable manner upon the frame 10 and contains a supply of warp yarns 1 1 in the well known way. The controllingmechanism further includes a take-off roll journaled in suitable bearings upon the frame 10 and provided with a friction surface; that is to say, the outer surface of the roll may be sanded or provided with any other suitable friction material such as cork or the like whereby a grip is developed upon the warp yarns 14 as will be described more fully hereinafter. The take-off roll 15 is driven in the required mannor, that is to say, in successive steps corresponding accurately with the picks of the woven fabric in any suitable manner; for instance, as shown in the drawing, a worm gearing comprising a worm wheel 16 fixed upon the shaft of the take-off roll 15 and meshing with a worm gear 17 located upon an upright shaft 18 may be provided for this purpose. The shaft 18 is mounted in suitable bearings upon the frame 10 and carries a bevel pinion 19 in mesh with a cooperating bevel pinion 20 mounted upon a counter-shaft 21 also journaled in bearings upon the frame 10. The shaft 21 in addition carries a pinion 22 arranged in mesh with an idler pinion 23, the latter in turn being in mesh with a pinion 21 carried by a shaft 25 also rotatably mounted upon the frame 10. The shaft 25 constitutes the driving shaft and is intermittently operated in successive steps by means of a ratchet wheel 26 fixed upon the shaft 25 and :1 pawl carried by or forming part of a lever 9.8 reciprocated in the manner which will be more fully set forth hereinafter. An

- idler roll is carried by a shaft 30, journaled in blocks 31 vertically adjustable upon the frame 10 and pressed resiliently downwardly, for instance by means of bolts 31 mounted on the frame 10 and acting to compress springs 31; the surface of the roll 29 is covered with felt or s' ailar cushioning material and is pressed against the take-off roll 15 to grip the yarns 1 1 by means of said bolts 31' and springs 31 bearing on the blocks 31 as clearly shown in Fig. 1. To eliminate any inequalities in the tension of the warp yarns 1-1 on the warp beam 13 and in order to brine; all of the yarns in question to the take-up roll 15 at a uniform tension. rolls 33 and 3 1 are mounted upon suitable brackets 35 carrier by the frame for instance as indicated in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. l, the roll 3?; is located at a considerable distance above the take-off roll 15 while the roll is placed in close in'oiriinit to said take-off roll 15. As previously stated herein, any suitable mechanism may be provided for reciprocating the lever 28 in a manner to bring about the step by step operation of the ratchet 26 and the corresponding intermittent rotation of the take-off roll 15 through the medium of the worm gearing 16-17 and associated eleiiuents. In the illustrated example the means referred to comprises a bell-crank lever 86 to which the one end of the lever 28 is pivoted. at 37. The bell-crank lever 36 is ti ed upon shaft 38 suitably journaled upon the frame 10 and rocked by means of a link 39 pivotally connected at 4:0 with the bellcranh lever and having its lower end forked to straddle a power-shaft 11 as shown in Fig. 1. T e link 89 carries a roller 39 located. in the ca in groove 42 of a cam 4:3 fixed upon the shaft 11. Power is applied to rotate the latter in any suitable manner, it being. understood that the groove 42 of the cam 13 is so constituted as to bring; about a rocking of the bell-crank lever 36 and its shaft 38 and a consequent horizontal reciprocation. of the lever 28 and its pawl 27.

The controlling mechanism further includes a cloth roll 44 suitably journaled upon the frau'io 10 at the front end thereof upon which the woven fabric is wound. This cloth roll 44 is driven in intermittent steps in harmony with the picks of the fabric to wind the fabric thereon by any suitable mechanism. In the illustrated example the driving mechanism in question comprises a friction wheel or gear 45 fixed upon the shaft of the roll and engaging an idler friction wheel or gear %6 journaled upon the frame 10 and in turn ongaging a similar friction gear 17 mounted upon a shaft 48 which is rotatably mounted on the frame 10. The gear 47 turn is operated by-a pinion 49 located upon a shaft 50 journaled upon a frame 10 and carrying; a friction gear 51 which meshes w'th a pinion The latter is lined upon a shaft suitably mounted upon a frame 10 and provided with a ratchet wheel 5 1. In the drawings this ratchet 5 1 actuated by means of a pawl cr-rrried by a arm 56 pivotally mounted upon the shaft 53 and pivotally connected at 57 with one end of an arm 58, the other end of which is conne ted with an eccentric 59. The latter is fixed upon a shaft 60 whichalso carries a worm gear 61 meshing with a cooperating; worm gear 62 fixed upon a counter shaft '63 of the loom. A sand roll or other friction roll 6 1, is mounted upon the shaft 18 in close proximity to idler rolls 65 and 66 journaled upon the frame 10 at points above and below the shaft 18, s shown in Fig. 1, an additional roll 67 being journaled upon the frame 10 at a distance above the roll A whip roll 68 is located upon the frame 10 in proper relation to the controlling mechanism, as shown in Fig. 1.

As the loom is opera weavin operation the li rocated by the action of the cazn 13 and its associated eleme ts to cause the 'atchet 2G to be rotated in intermittent successive steps to thereby correspondingly operate the 24;. and 22 and the bevel pinions 20 and 19 which results in a rotation of the shaft 18. This brings about a correspondi" operation of the worm gear 17-16 and accoi timely rotates the takeoff roll in intermittent successivo ste each of which corresponds accurately with a piclr of the fabric being woven. Because of the frictional engagement between the warp yarns 11 and the take-off roll 15 and because of the action of the felt covered roll 29 to press the warp yarns into surface engagement wi h said take-off roll 15. this step by step rotation of the take-of" roll will cause the yarns to be withdrawn in corresponding successive steps from the warp beam 13. in order to prevent owl-run of the warp beam a brake 69 may be provided, said bral-ze being of small lol just suiiici ut to prevent such overrun. 'i ne yarns 14 l ore they reach the take-off roll 15 pass over the rolls 33 and 3% as illustrated in Fig. l. The yarns 1 1 are passed over the rolls 23 -3 and 34 for the purpose of eliminating any inequalities in tension of the warp yarns on the beam so that said yarns will reach the takeoff roll all at the same tension. The yarns 14; after passing between the rolls and pass over the whip roll 68 and over and under the customary lees-e rods 70 to the harnes" frames 11. The latter are rcciprocated v f in inverse relation to each other to reverse the yarns in the seed in the well known vary and in proper sequence w'th the operation of the customary shuttle, and the reed 12 is synchronously operated to lay the filler threads in the conventional manner. 1 he woven fabed to carry on the .nlr 28 will be recip' ric a after passing successively over the rollers 67 and passes over the sand roll list and the roll 66 to the frictionally driven cloth roll 4 t. The latter being driven in intermittent successive steps by the ratchet 5-:t and pawl and associated mechanism operates to wind up the .linished fabric as the weaving); proceeds, the friction connection between the ratchet drive and the cloth roll absorbing the increased take-up as the roll increases in diameter. lVith the arrangement described the yarns are positively taken off from the warp beam in contradistiuction to being letotl therefrom as in the old forms and are positively fed into the shed in exact accordance with the picks of the fabric being woven. The control of the take-off of the yarns from the warp beam is therefore positive and the feed of the said yarns into the shed and to the fell line accordingly takes place in positive steps in uniform and neon ate harmony with the picks of the fabric being woven. As a result of this, the weave of the fabric is uniform and reliable and defects therein are reduced to a minimum or avoided entirely. By substituting pinions Q2 of different predetermined dimensions the feed of the yarns it into the shed may be adjusted in accordance with any pick which may be desired. in machines heretofore employed no account was taken of the fact that the warp yarns are coiled about the tiller threads in the woven fabric, going ove one thread and under the next alternately. It results from this coiling of the warp that the total. length of warp yarn fed to the shed is actually longer than the length of cloth woven. It has been the common practice to feed the warp yarn at the same speed as the circumferential speed of the cloth roller. This practice. in vie of the fact that the woven cloth was shorter ll in the warp yarn fed to the shed. crea ed tension in the cloth and warp yarn which caused slipping of friction rollers or breaking of the yarn which unfavorably affected the yield and quality of cloth obtained from the machine.

By means of the removable and interchangeable 2% above described. applicant is enabled to increase the speed of the varp yarn over the circinnfercntial speed of the cloth roller 4-iand also to vary .ich increase of speed. The magnitude of this dditiotial incr einentof speed of the warp threads over the woven cloth will depend not only upon the number of picks, but also upon the thick of the warp and tiller threads. In the il ustrated example the pinion is removed and replaced by another for this purpose, the pinion 2?) being adiustably mounted in a slotted arm 23 in order to permit said pin on :33 to be adjusted to different positions to properi'v mesh with the different pinions 22; to still further facilitate this adjustment of the pinion 23 the arm may be loosely mounted upon the shaft 25 so as to be capable of pivotally swinging thereon. 'lo still further reduce the possibility of defects in the weaving, I have provided a mechanism constructed and arranged to maintain the warp yarns .in the shed under an even tension during the reversal of the yarns in said shed.

In existing arrangements, the distance between the harness frames, and the whip roll being fixed, the warp yarns in the shed slacken up or are under a varying tension as the reversal of the yarns in the shed takes place. To overcome this objection and to maintain the yarn in the shed under an even tension at all times, the whip roll 68 instead of being rotatable upon a fixed axis as in existing looms, is jourualed in bearing blocks 71, which are capable of horizontal sliding movements in bearings 72, forn'iing part of or secured to the frame 10. To bring about a shifting of the whip roll toward and away from the harness frames to an extent necessary to maintain the warp yarns under an even tension at all times. a link 72 is pivotally connected at one end with the shaft of the Whip roll (:8 and at its other end with the bellcrank lever 36 which is extended upwardly for this purpose, and a corresponding link 73 is connected with the other end of the shaft of the whip roll 68 and with another liellcrank lever 36 lined upon the farther end of rock shaft 38 as viewed in Fig. 1. In the preferred or 'angenient, the previously men tioned cam 43 is adjustablv lixcd upon the shaft 41 for instance by being adjustahlv n'iounted on a hub 43 which is fixed upon the shaft 41, as shown in Figs. at and 5. The cam 43 is adjustable relatively to the hub all and to the shaft ll, in order to bring about a proper timing of the compensating movement of the whip roll 68 in accordance with the harness motion of the particular loom in question, and is fXOCl in its adjusted positions in any suitable manner as by means of a bolt or the like 43. With this arrangement, as the previously described operations of the loom take place, the cam l?) actuated by the rotation of the shaft ll, will through the medium of the roller 42 and link 25L), rock the bell-crank lever 36 in a manner to rcci procate the lever 28 in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth. At. the same time the actuation of the belhcrank lever 36 will rock the shaft 38 and accordingly will bring about a corresponding actuation of the other bell-crank lever 36 which is not shown in the drawings. As a result of this the links 73 will be reciprocated horizontally and will correspondingly reciprocate the whip roll (58 in horizontal directions. The adjustment of the cam 4-3 and the dimensions and the relation of the parts are so proportioned that the reciprocation of the whip roll 68 such that the warp yarns ll in the shed will at all tunes be maintained under an even tension. That ill is to say, as the vertical dimensions of the shed are reduced due to the changing position of the harness frames 11, the whip roll 68 will be moved in a direction a "ay from said harness frames to the slight extent necessary to take up the slack in the yarns it, which otherwise would occur; sin'iilarly, the shed opens up, the whip roll will be adjusted toward the harness frames 11, to compensate for the decrease in the length of the warp yarns which takes place because of this adj ustmen t.

The mechanism illustrated r whereby the whip roll is at justeu automatically to compensate for the reversal of the yarns, in the shed and to maintain said yarns under a uniformly even tension is of the simplest character and operates it in a most efficient manner. As a result, breakage or other injury to the yarns in the shed is reduced to a minimum or is eliminated entirely. It will, of cour e, be understood that the devices herein shown and described, are constructed and arranged to operate in proper synchronism with the harness movement and with the remaining mechanism of the loom which may be of any conventional type.

in order to transmit motion from the shaft 41 to the shaft 63 the latter may any a pinion '24 arranged in mesh with a gear fixed upon a jack shaft 76 journaled in suitable bea ings 77. The shaft 76 also carries a bevel gear 78 in mesh with a corresponding bevel gear 79 fixed on the shaft 41 whereby the two shafts 41 and 76 are operatively co nected.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a weaving machine, the combination of a warp beam, a take-off roll, operating mechanism for positively and intermittently rotating said take-off roll in successive steps predetermined by the picks of the fabric being woven to feed the warp yarns from the warp beam to the shed and fell line, a cloth roll, actuating mechanism for actuating said cloth roll in successive steps corresponding to the movement of said take-off roll, said take-oil roll operating mechanism including an adjustable element adapted to control the magnitude of the intermittent angular displacements of said take-oft roll, whereby the extent of movement of said take-off roll may be varied independently of said cloth roll.

2. In weaving machine, the combination of a warp beam, a take-off roll, operating mechanism for positively and intermittently rotating said take-off roll in successive steps predetermined by the picks of the fabric being woven to feed the warp yarns from the warp beam to the shed and fell line, a cloth roll, actuating mechanism for rotating said cloth roll in successive steps corresponding to the movement of said take-off roll, and means for varying the extent of movement of said takeoff roll independently of said cloth roll, said means forming part of the operating mechanism for said take-01'1" roll and including a driving gear, an arm pivoted coaXially therewith, an idler gear mounted on said arm, and a removably mounted driven gear arranged to drive said take-off roll, said idler gear being adjustable to mesh with said driving and driven gears.

3. In a weaving machine, the combination of a warp beam, a take-0E roll adapted to draw the warp yarns from said beam and feed the same to the shed and fell line, operating mechanism connected to said take-off roll for positively and intermittently rotating the same in successive steps predetermined by the picks of the fabric being woven, said mechanism being adjustable to vary the magnitude of the intermittent angular displacements of said take-off roll in accordance with the character of the fabric being woven.

4:. In a weaving machine, the combination of a warp beam, a take-off roll adapted to draw the warp yarns from said beam, gearing operatively connected with said takeoff roll, pawl and ratchet mechanism for intermittently operating said gearing in successive steps predetermined by the picks of the fabric being woven, whereby said take-off roll is actuated to feed the warp yarns positively from the warp beam to the shed of the loom, a cloth roll, and independent pawl and ratchet mechanism for actuating said cloth roll in successive steps corresponding to the feed of said take-off roll.

5. In a weaving machine, the combination of a warp beam, harness frames movable vertically in inverse relation to reverse the warp yarns in the shed, a whip roll, mechanism for driving said beam intermittently including a ratchet wheel, a shaft, a bell-crank, a connection between said shaft and said bellcrank to oscillate the latter, a pawl actuated by said bell-crank and engaging said ratchet wheel, and a connection between said whip roll and said crank whereby said roll is es cillated toward and away from said harness frames to maintain said yarns under a uniform tension during reversal thereof in the shed.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand.

JONATHAN LUCAS. v 

